High praise preceded ESU exec's dismissal

Monday

Jun 24, 2013 at 12:01 AMJul 30, 2013 at 5:41 PM

Isaac Sanders, once East Stroudsburg University's chief fundraiser, received a glowing employee review plus a raise within a month of being placed on leave over allegations that he sexually harassed several male students.

CHRISTINA TATU

Isaac Sanders, once East Stroudsburg University's chief fundraiser, received a glowing employee review plus a raise within a month of being placed on leave over allegations that he sexually harassed several male students.

Recently filed court documents in a pending federal court case against Sanders cast new light on developments leading up to and following his placement on administrative leave over the allegations.

One week after placing Sanders on leave with pay on July 1, 2008, ESU's then-President Robert Dillman completed a six-page, satisfactory review of Sanders' job performance, according to court files.

The review covers Sanders' employment at the university from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008, and was signed and dated by Dillman on July 8, 2008.

In August 2007, the first young man involved in the case against Sanders filed sexual harassment charges, which were investigated by, and later dismissed, by university officials.

Sanders, who was director of the East Stroudsburg University Foundation and vice president for advancement at the time, was placed on administrative leave after the Pocono Record reported several other students were making similar allegations against him.

On Aug. 8, 2008, Dillman sent a letter to Sanders' home notifying him he was eligible for a raise and would receive a $6,800 increase to his $136,006 annual base salary.

The raise was retroactive to July 1, 2008, the day Sanders was placed on administrative leave.

Sanders was eventually fired on Oct. 22, 2008, after the completion of an outside investigation.

Dillman, who did not immediately return a phone call Friday for comment, did address the review and pay increase in a Dec. 21, 2011, deposition recently made public in court filings.

He asserted it was up to PASSHE to determine which managers received raises, but PASSHE officials last week said otherwise.

"I didn't give him a merit increase," Dillman said in his deposition.

"The PASSHE system gave him merit increases, correct, or the (PASSHE Board of Governors)?" asked Albert Murray, the attorney representing the plaintiffs in the case.

"He got pay raises like everybody else, but I never gave him a merit raise, per se," Dillman said.

Every few years, when the money is available, the PASSHE Board of Governor's adopts a policy setting aside a percentage of each university's budget to be used for merit raises, PASSHE Vice Chancellor for External Relations Karen Ball said on Tuesday.

This policy ensures that nonunion employees receive raises, she said. But it is officials from the individual universities who are responsible for completing performance evaluations and determining which employees are eligible for a raise.

"The employees all must receive completed performance evaluations, and based on their rating in that evaluation, it tends to drive the scale of the percentage (raise) the employee gets," Ball said. "It goes back to the university to decide who gets a raise."

In addition to the $6,800 raise Sanders received to his base salary in July 2008, he was also awarded a $10,000 bonus from the board of directors of the foundation in February 2007.

The "State System of Higher Education Management Performance Appraisal and Development Form" is an employee evaluation undertaken every fiscal year, according to court documents.

Each year, the employee being reviewed and their supervisor sit down to set out various goals related to the employee's job, Dillman said, according to court files. Dillman was Sanders' direct superior and therefore the supervisor who would conduct the review and help Sanders choose his goals.

Sanders is scored in each category on a scale of 1-3, or "below expectations," "at or above expectations" and "significantly exceeds expectations."

Dillman's remarks in the review show just how important Sanders was to ESU's fundraising endeavors.

Sanders was successful in securing the "largest scholarship gift in history from an ESU alumni, Betty Baltz," for more than $1 million, Dillman said in the review.

Sanders also "secured the largest gift annuity in ESU history of $100,000," and surpassed that year's Comprehensive Campaign goal of $3 million by $155,831.

Sanders repeatedly scored high marks throughout the review, which doesn't make any mention of the original sexual harassment charge filed against him in August 2007, or the administrative leave he was placed on just one week before the review was signed and dated by Dillman.

"The evaluation was for the prior period. It was the beginning of an investigation and that investigation certainly wouldn't have been done in a week," Ball said.

Sanders is scored in areas including, "Health of the University," "Job Specific Performance Areas," and "Teamwork and Collaboration."

"The success of the advancement office in achieving and exceeding its financial goals has been due to the leadership of Isaac Sanders," Dillman wrote. "Isaac has worked to improve diversity in his office and around the campus. He has been a very important team player in the senior staff "» . One caveat is the need for stable staffing and new hires that bring expertise to the organization."